Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1915-02-25

and trlpped him. A moment later he
was tootlng Il up to the, crest At top
speed. with the sentry'a crtea for help
urging him on.
Rsforp $he could reach the divide .
bullet whiszed by his bead, then an
other. Returned madly and 6red rap.
idly down into the shadows at his ,pur.
suers. ne cursed himself for BID fol.
lys when a. second,asentry appeared
above him: drawn b. the dashsef his
shots to hh hiding place. Theeessw was
but ono refuge the mine sha3tssS he.
plunged obliquely downward for It.
Naturally enough, the troopers
thought their quarry was corneFeds but
Wiikerson drove straight on downward
toan old working. mounted again.
crossed by a disused gallery and final
" emerged far up the cli1. On his
way be, had picked up a. coil Of rope.
and when he found himself on the
edgefof the prscipice and bis pursuers
gaining. on him De made one end Of
the rope fast and speedily started to
descend. But the distance was too
great BEFORE he was halfway to the
bottom he had been discovered, and
he felt the rope being hauled up. In
despair, with a madmanis strength. he
swung far out and then In, dropping
onsa little ledge concealed BY the over.
hang Of the clif.
As the rope came free in their hands
the pursuers realized that their prey
had. escaped them. They peered over.
Surely be had foiled the law only to
meet death on the rocks far below.
On his giddy perch Wilkerson heard
their awedi speculations and laughed
silently. Then he crawled away. In
the distance he heard the screech Of q
locomotive whistle, marking the pas
sage Of an. express. The freight would
be due IN two hours. he must makeit.
Tom Kane arrived early in the morn
ing to find the camp in al uproar.
The Mexicans had quietly vanished,
Ruth was mourning the loss Of the
master key, and the sheriff. staring at
the now useless warrant. was beyond
words to express his chagrin.
John Dorr alone was serene, though
he realized that Wikersop had again
checkmated him. But the immediate
need Of the hour was haste. / He in
strlucted Kane to take charge o. the
mine, and directed Ruth to prepare for
q trip. to the coast that afternoon.
Luckily I copied those figures" he
said grimly. h j 5
Two days later John Dorr and Ruth
were steaming up the channel from
San Pedro In aslaunch fitted with div.
Ing outfit. The skipper Of the launch
remembered perfectly the burning of
the steamer and, now that be knew
the position where Il sank. gave out
graat hopes OF finding the hulk
The sea is shallow there. and the
tides aren't strong enough totsmove
her," he stated. THE only thing ~.
somebody may have been ahead Of us.'
''NWilkerson couldn't be ahead OF u.s."
John assured Ruth. Il inquired care
AuNy ~ 00A SOAVs 1870 Fl ri EFN. . AL
Yet at noon bis unspoken fears were
realized. There was another powerful
launch ahead Of them which their cap
tain identified asa diving and salvage
boat from San Diego.
Then they'll get ahead OF as" Ruth
Inourned. $"After oil our trouble"
The launch captain and the diver
both comforted her BY stating that the
given position was not far away. that
it was sometimes a. matter of days to
find a wreck even If the approximate
location was known and that at any
rate they would soon be near enough
to see whether the other craft was
successful.
Two hours later Wtlkerson's launch
was swinging easily over tne low
swells not 4 mile from the blun shore.
and they could see bis DIVER preparing
to so down.
Il hope be doesn't md It" breatned
Dorr as he urged bis OVID men to great
er speed
They've struck the spot II those
figures Of yours are correct" was the
reply. But time will tell"
When the two boats were. close to-
gether John saw that Mrs. Darnell was