Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1917-11-02

them think you are afraid To seem
afraid is to invite attack Can we
defend ourselves, with three firearms
between us?' Look! What is that?"
They were at the point where the
road begins to lead uphill, westward,
leaving the bed of a ravine and as
cending to join the highway built by
British engineers. Below, to left and
right, was plymouth gloom, shadows |
amid shadows, full Of eerie whisper
ings, and King felt the short hair on |
his neck begin to rise. He urged his |
horse forward. The Rangar followed |
him, close up, and both horse and
mare sensed excitement.
Look, sahib !"
After a second or two he caught
a glimpse of blush flame that flashed
suddenly and died again, somewhere
below to the right. Then all at once
the flame burned brighter and stead
ier and began to move and to grow.
"Halt! King thundered; and his
voice was sharp and unexpected as a
pistol crack. This was something tan
gible, that a man could tackle-a per-
feet antidote for nerves.
The blue light continued on a zig
gag course, as if man were running
among powders with an unusual sort
of torch; and as there was no answer
King drew his pistol. took about thirty
seconds aim and fired. He fired
STRAIGHT af tha hluo LIGHT
II vanished instantly, into measure
less black silence
"NOw you've jolly well done it,
haven't you'll" the Rangar laughed in
his ear. THAT was her blue light
YaSmini's!''
| 1t was a minute before King an
swered, for both animals were all but
ers' state of mind; it needed horse
manship to get them back under con-
troll.
"How do you know whose light it
was" King demanded, when the
horse and mare were head to head
again.
1T was prearranged. She promised
me signal at the point where 1 am
to leave the trackI"
King drove both spurs home, and
set his unwilling horse to scrambling
downward at an angle he could not
guess, into blackness he could feel,
trusting the animal to find a footing
where his own eyes could make out
nothing.
To his disgust he heard the Ran
gar Immediately. To his even greater
disgust the black mare overlook him.
And even then, with his own mount
stumbling and nearly pitching him
headforemost at each lurch, he was
forced to admire the mares goatlike
agility, for she descended into the
gorge in running leaps, never setting
a wrong foot When he and his horse
reached the bottom at last he found
the Rangar waiting for him.
''This way, sahibI"
The next he knew sparks from the
black mares heels were kicking up
in front of him, and wild ride had
begun such as he had never yet
dreamed of. There was no catching
up, for the black mare could gallon
two to his horses one; but he. sci
his teeth and followed into solid
night, trusting ear, eye, guessworh
and the god of the secret service
men, who loves the reckless.
/ Once in every two minutes ht
caught sight for a second of the same
blue siren light that had started thu
, race. He suspected that there were
many torches placed at intervals.
His own horse developed a speet
! and stamina he had not suspected, ant
: probably the Rangar did not dare eX
tend the mare to her limit in tn,
! dark; at all events, for ten, perhap
: fifteen, minutes of breathless gallop
' ing he almost made a race of it, keep
ing the Rangar either within sight o
sound.
{ But then the mare swerved sud
!. denly behind a bowlder and was gone
He spurred round the same great roc
minute later, and was faced by I
blank wall of shale that brought hi
! horse up all standing. 1t led steep u
for a thousand feet to the skyline
There was not so much as a goat
z track to show in which direction tn
= mare had gone, nor a sound of an
4 kind to guide him.
He dismounted and stumbled abou
on foot for about ten minutes wit
: his eyes two feet from the earth, try
ing to find some trace of hoof. The
!, he listened, with his ear to th
ground. There was no result.
A He knew better than to shou
= After some thought he mounted an
began to hunt the way back, remen
). bering turns and twists with a gil
: for direction that natives might we
have envied him. He found his wa
, back to the foot of the road at
trot, where ninety-nine men out of a
most any hundred would have bee
~ lost hopelessly; and close to the roa
!, he overlook Darya Khan, hugging h
rifle and staring about like a scorpio
= at bay.
did you expect that blue light, ar
'e this galloping awayF" he asked.
= NAY, sahib; 1 knew nothing of Il
. 1 was told to lead the way to Xiii
v JAM"
!" "Come on, thenT
g On the level road above King stare
about him and felt in his pockets Fl
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