Williams news., 1917-05-03

to assassinate him. As he looked at the shattered summit, his hazel eyes flashed. He thrust the rifle back into it's sheath, and drew the mare down to a walk.
 Behind him he heard muff1ed drum ming of unshod hoofS. Vandervyn was coming up at gallop.
 When the mocking trickster came up behind Hardy, he refined in to a jog trot, and, as before, rode past him with his hand on his hip.
 There were marked differences be- tween the third pinto and the two first. He was taller and leaner, and one of his feet was white. But Hardy ap- peared to be too dejected to heed the fact. As the pinto ambled away in the lead, Vandervyn smiled, and looked back at lis rival with all the hate gone from his face. "By-by a. :n. old moH,'' he bantered. "Sorry can't Stay to keep you company. The lady is waiting-and the mine. It may also please you to hear that have a duly signed and witnessed contract with the tribe, giving me a fee of 20 per cent on all moneys appropriated in eral lands. Let's hear you congratu- late me. Show you're game!'
 But Hardy did not raise his eyes. As soon as Vandervyn was out of sight around the castellated rocks at the top of the ridge, Hardy stopped the mare and dropped from the saddle. His shapely mouth was curved in resolute smile, and his hand was rap idly transferring from the saddlebags to his pockets pocket ax, handful of pistol cartridges and the legal no- tices for posting mining claim.
 He glanced up the slope, and, seeing no sign of Vandervyn, stripped off the mares bridle, sponged out her nostrils and mouth with the last water in his canteen.
 Hardy took the steep slope at an un- hurried pace. He reached the place where he had found the bloody trail of Redbear. Up the cleft the climbing was not stiff. He came out on the valley slope, extremely hot and dry but not out of breath. Drawing an airline across to the opposite noun tainSide, where he had seen the light of Ti-owa-konZa's campfire through the darkness, he started down into the valley at a jog as brisk as that of the third pinto. He was almost spent as he tottered through the pines up the last slope. The camp was gone, but he knew the nearest way to the spring.
 He rested two or three minutes, re- peatedly cooling his head in the spring and rinSing out his mouth, but drink ing only a very few sips. Again re- fresheu, he half filled his canteen, and started on up the easy mountain slope at steady jog.
 Ten minutes brought him over the summit to the sharp pitch above the mine. He stared down at the terrace several moments, however, before he made out the figures of man and woman waiting at the first turn o1 the trail. There could be no doubt that the two were Marie and her ia ther.
 It was no less certain that Wander
 
 suspected his opponents stratagem, he scarcely could have covered the sever miles of trail in as short time 6: Hardy had taken to make the three miles across country.
 The two watchers never thought tt look about and up the mountain. The! had not yet looked about when ht came down upon the crest of the spur A large, newly cut stake gave him { hint where one of the upper corner: of the claim should be located. Ht cut his own stake, drove it, and tackeC on one of his legal notices. Another stake indicated the other upper corner and he swiftly repeated the making of his own stake and posting of thu | notice.
 At the curb of the mine shaft h. posted another notice. He was now il plain view from the cabin, but out O sight of the watchers down on th' trail. On the terrace, as he was work ing the third stake into bed of loos rocks, he heard an angry exclamation over near the cabin. Dupont and Ma .W |4b .,,155HIiff: ff