Williams news., 1916-11-23

pilue. DuI Ouuu Ouly sat Sll6nCly, watching Marie furtively, while the sergeant's eyes were alight with tri- umph. He felt that he had won, had shown Marie his superiority over Dunn.
 They retired to their hunks. They were to start up the trail at day. break, on the quest for Black Doe Dunn slept fitfully; he was thinking of Marie, and his heart was full of passionate resentment. He was the first up, and went to groom the horses. AS he came back to the shack he heard Mitchell's voice and the girls behind the open door. Mitchell had his arm round her waist and was drawing her toward him. Crum was nowhere in sight.
 Then Dunn knew what he meant to do. He crept back very softly to the stable and loaded his rifle. He took it in his arms, carrying it as a mother might her first born, and approached the door again.
 Mitchell held the girl in his arms now, and she was struggling as he
 
 erately, was conscious of the open door at the back of the shack, and a clump of dwarf fir about a hundred yards distant. Then he concentrated his attention upon Mitchell. Carefully he drew a bead on him so as to avoid hitting the girl.
 Bang!
 ah4n s,,4~ -s, out his arms, and pitched head fore most. Dunn stepped into the shack. There was no need to look more than once at the dead face, or the blood oozing from the heart. Marie ran to Dunn, sobbing wildly. "YOu did right, the beast!" she cried. Come with me-" said Dunn. They raced to the stables, and in a moment he had freed the horses, saddled them, and placed her on the Sergeant's. In another moment they were galloping across the barrens. At | the time Dunn was conscious of won- | dering where old Dufour and Crum were. But moment later they heard shouts behind them. They galloped frantically forward, anywhere, so long as they could win free. Crum was man of resolution, and Dunn knew that he would take up the chase and never leave it. He reckoned on the fact that Crum's horse was the slowest of the three. The freshly fail | ing snow would hide their tracks i1 they could win the country across the river bed, where series Of hummocks swelled into the Big Lake mountains.
 Far behind him Dunn heard a shout | He turned and looked back as he rode Crum was standing at the door of the stable, waving his arms to him.
 A few minutes later Dunn, looking l back, saw Crum mounted and in pur suit of them. tiny figure upon a tiny horse. They rode madly for the dir toward the river.
 eve must be careful" said Marie as they began the descent. "The rocks are dangerous"
 Even as she spoke her horse tripped on projecting powder, stumbled, and flung her face downward upon the hard bed of the frozen stream. Dunr leaped from his horse and kneeled be. side her. She had been stunned by the fall; she opened her eyes and looked about her half-conscious. The horse scrambled to its feet, rar up the bank, and raced back toward the stable, followed by Dunn's horse And Dunn, kneeling at Marie's side knew that chance had settled his par. ticular problem. And in the distance Crum came on inexorably. | Dunn shrugged his shoulders as one who has played his last card. He car. ried the girl up to the top of the bank and waited for Crum, who came gal. loping up on his blown horse. He flung himself to his feet, panting, like his steed.
 What's the matter with you, to play this crazy trick after killing him?" he shouted.
 Dunn smiled. q guess you're right Crum," he said. ''Take the girl on your saddle; I'll walk. You can trust me-"
 | Crum, staring at him in apparent perplexity, lifted Marie to the saddle before him. She had fallen into a swoon again. Then he rode slowly back toward the cabin, with Dunn walking a little distance in front of him.
 He turned his horse away when near the stable, and went toward the little patch of stunted trees that had struck upon Dunn's attention at the moment when he raised his rifle. Dunn saw the motionless body of a man lying hidden among them. It was Black Doe.
 "How did you get him, Dunn?" asked Crum, disnounting and turning the body over. See! He had just fired. You were in the nick of time." The dead mans fingers were clutched about the trigger; the rifle had been discharged; over his heart was bullet wound.