Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1916-10-04

CHAPTER NNlI.-Ccontinued.)

$1,000 '''-'' - WV 'N'' ~ 't''
strung wire. For a little while his mind
:as ciuttered and chopped with whirl-
ing thoughts, from which. like Il flash
ing scroii. unrcl."d the long. battling
oder OF action. The game wac now in
Sis hInt.i. He must cross Mount ora
al night. The feat WAS Improbable. but
1t might be done. lie must ride into
BraGlord, 40 miles from the foothills.
3etor" $ o'cincM next morning. He must
telegraph MacNeliy 10 be in Val Verde
Oh Tho 25tu. lie must ride back to ord,
to intercept smell, face him., be de-
nouncct. Kill him. and while the iron
WE noi strike hard 60 win PoSgin's
half-won intercs, as he had wholly won
Flctcher's. Failing that last, he must
let &C outlaws alone l., bide their ti!ne
in Ord. To be free t" ride on to their
ncw JOB in Val Verde. IN the mean time
he mlut plan to arrest i-OlSstretn. ~
was u llagnif.cent outline, Incredible,
al.urin,. unfl enable III its naiileles:;
certainty. l!c felt like fate. He seemed
to ie the IRON consequences falling upon
these doomed ou.iawS.
Undcr the wall the hadOW were
black, only the tips of trees and craSS
showing, yet he went straight to the
trail. 81 was merely a gray ness betWeen
borders OF black. lie climbed and never
stopped. 1t did not seem steep. His feet
hight .,ave had eyes. He :'urmounted
tho ,wlli. aud. looking down into the
.eboay sulf pierced by one point of light,
he lifted II menacins arm and shook IL.
Then he STROBE on and did not falter till
he reached The huge shelving cliffs.
Here he lost the trail; there was none;
but ,c remembered the shapes, the
points, the notcl:es OF rock above. Be
fore he reached the ruins OF Sp!intered
ramEavts and jumsoles of broken wallis
the 1ncon topped the eastern slope OF
the mountain. and the mystifying
b!ackne:ss he y dreaded changed to
magic silver light. IL seemed as light as
day, only soft. mellow. and the air held
a Transparent sheen. He ran up the bare
ridges and down the smooth slopes. and,
like Il goat. jumped from rock to rock.
In the tight he knew his way and lost
no time looking for IL trail. He crossed
the divide and then had all down hill
before him. Swiftly lac descended, al
most always sure OF his memory OF the
iaEdmuriss. He did not remember hav-
Ing studied them in the ascent. vet here
they. were. even in changed light, ia
mili.A. to his sight. What he had once
seen was pictured ON his mind. And.
true as II deer striking for home, he
reached the canon where he had left
his horse.
Bullet was quickly and easily found.
Duane threw on the saddle and pack.
cinched them tight. and resumed his
descent. The worst was now to come.
Bare downward steps in rock, llding
weathered slopes. narrow black gullies,
1000 openings in Il maze of broken
stone-thesc Duane had to descend in
fast time, leading a giant OF a horse.
Bullet cracked h loose fragments.
sent them rolling. sliding on the scaly
slopes. plunged down the sleeps. fol-
lowed like a. faithful dog at Duane's
heels.
q passed rs moments. Duane was
equal To ais greatest opportunity. But
he .ould NOS uuell that self in him
which reached back over the lapse of
In,,at, ,..r .,, ,r 40. , IA fD,yy~<l %1H0 hDvyl
in him. He who had been worse than
dead was now grasping at the skirts of
life--Which meant victory, honor, hap
pincss. Duane kne he was not just
right in part OF his mind. Small Won
d., nat he was not insane, he thought.
h campe on downward. his marvel
OIL, 'aculty for covering rough ground
an, holding to the true course never
bcfCs, even In flight so keen n acute.
Not ~! the time Il spirit was keeping
step with him. Thought of Ray Long
streth as he Il left her made him
weak. Blu now, with the game clear to
Its end. with the trap to cDring. with
success strangely haunting him, Duane
could not dispel memory of her. He saw
her white face. with it's sweet sad lips
nNd the dark eyes so tender n tragic.
ANA time and distance and risk and
toll were nothing.
me moon sloped to the west.
COWS OF trees and crags now crossed
I. ,ae other side of him. TIL stars DIM
ID. Then he was out of the rocks, with
We dim trail pale at his feet. Mounting
Eullet. he made short work of the long
land leading down to Ord. The little
outlaw camp. with its shacks and
cabins and row of houses. lay silent and
dark under the paltng moon. Duane.
passed by on the lower trail. headed
INTO the road. and put Bullet to a gallop.
f1ts WNtnhAd tho dvIiv,,r ,r,0@n 49,
Ing stars. n the east. He had time 10
Spa ~. so he saved the horse. Knell
WpHid be leaving the rendezvous abou:
the time Duanc turned back toward
ORD. Between noon and sunset they
NHu1ai meet. u.
TIE night wore on. The moon sank
behind low mountains in the west. The
stars Enlightened for u while, then faded.
Gray gloom cnvelOpe0 the world. thick
cled. lay like smoke over the road.
Thcn shade by shade 1t lightened. until
stone a dim light.
Duane reached Bradford before dawn
he dismounted som distance from the
tracks. tied his horse. and then crossed
over TO h station. He heard the click
ing o. the telegraph instruments,
sat inside reading. When u
tapped on h window he looked nm
with startled. g.accs, then went svi:.,v
to iunlock the door.
t.sHelio. Give me paper and pencil.
Quick" whispered Duane.
With trembling hands the operator
compiled. Duane wrote out the mes
eoaEe he had carefully composed.
sSend this-repeat II to make sure
thGtt keep mum. I'll e you again.
0eod-by."
IT, epsr.ter started. s4n ,t did not
Dassss ieft = stsaluhiiy ssd swiftly