The Mena weekly star., 1917-02-15

and walked up to the cabin door. It was open.
 De Spain called grufT1y to the cabin inmate. There was no answer. He hitched his trouser band near to the butt of his revolver with his right hand, and laid his left on the jamb of the door, his eyes meantime boring the darkness to the left, where Sassoon's bed should be. The utmost scrutiny failed to disclose any sign of 1t or any sound of breathing from that corner. He took few steps toward where the man should be asleep, and perceived beyond doubt that there was no bed in the corner at all. He turned toward the other corner, his hand covering the butt of his gun. Hello, Shike l" he called out In slightly strained tone of camaraderie addressing Sassoon by a common nickname. Then he lis- tened. A trumpeting snore answered. No sound was ever sweeter to De Spain's ear. The rude noise cleared the air and steadied the intruder as if Music mountain itself had been lifted off his nerves.
 He tried again: "Where are you. ShlkeT he growled. What's this stuff on the floorY' he continued, shufiling his way ostentatiously to the other side of the room. He felt his way to- ward the inner door. This was where he expected to find it, and it was closed. He laid hand gipgerly on the latch. "Where are you. Shike?" he demanded again, this time with an im- patient expletive summoned for the occasion. A second fearful snore an- swered him. De Spain, relieved. al- most laughed as he pushed the door open, though not sure whether curse or a shot would greet him. He got neither. And a welcome surprise in the dim light came through a stuffy pane of glass at one end of the room. It revealed at the other end man stretched asleep on wall bunk--a man that would, in all likelihood. have heard the stealthiest sound had any ef- fort been made to conceal it, but to whose ears the rough voices of mountain cabin are mere sleeping po- tions.
 The sleeper woke to feel hand laid lightly on his shoulder. The instinct of self-preservation acted like flash. His eyes opened and his hands struck out like cats paws to the right and left: no knife and no revolver met them. Instead, in the semidarkness a strange face bent over him. His fists shot out together, only to be caught in wise that broke his arms in two at the elbows, and forced them back against his throat. A knee, like an anvil. pushed inexorably into his stom- ach and heart and lungs. Another lay across his right arm, and his strug- gling left arm he could not. though his eyes burst with the strain from their sockets, release from where, eaglelike claws gripped at his throat and shut off his breath. He lay still.
 Are you awake. Shike?" Sassoon heard from the gloom above him. But he could not place the voice. You seem to move around a good deal in your sleep. If you're awake, keep still. I've come from Sleepy Cat to get you. Don't mind looking for your gun and knife. Two men are with me. You can have your choice. We've got horse for you. You can ride away from us here inside the gap. and take what hits you in the back, or you can go to Sleepy Cat with us and stand your trial T,i1 rood x.a,,r ,,,o r,-ort ...ho., &k., sun gets little higher. Get up and choose quick"
 Sassoon could not see who had sub- dued him, nor did he take long to de- eide what to do. With less trouble than he expected, the captor got his man sullenly on horseback, and gave him severely plain directions as to what to do. Sassoon, neither bound nor gagged, was told to ride his horse down the gap closely ahead of De Spain and neither to speak nor turn his head no matter what happened right or left.
 In the growing light the two men trotted smartly a mile down the trail without encountering a sign of life. When they approached the Morgan ranch-house De Spain rode close to his prisoner. told him what would happen if he made a noise, and even held him back in his pace as they trotted together past the gap strong hold. When they left the house behind and the turn in the road put them out of range of it's windows, he closed up the distance between himself and Sas- soon, riding close in to his side, and looked back for fraction of second. When he looked ahead again he saw confronting him, not a hundred yards away, a motionless horseman.