The Red Cloud chief., 1917-01-11
Hardy waved to him imperatively.

llaruy waved 10 MN lnperltlVely.
eco on !" he shouted. Guard Miss
Dupont. May be more of them. Send
the police around to flank"
Nandervyn's pinto leaped out of
sight. A shot grazed the mares with
ers. In n flash he flung up his rifle
and fired ut the down-peering devilish
face. 1t vanished as he pressed the
trigger.
Swift as a puma, he sprang around
the mares head and dashed up the
slope, Keeping Il large bowldcr in line
between himself and his enemy. A bull
let came pinging down ovc the bowl
der and passed under his appraised
arm. A few seconds more and, safe
behind the huge stone, he slowly edged
his hat above the top. The ancient
use drew a shot. Instantly he scram-
bled Obliquely upward towards another
bowlder. 1t was a desperate move. A
bullet grazed his thigh rs he flung
himself behind the bushes beside the
second bowlder. Hardy waited.
The twilight was fast fading. Still
Hardy waited, his gaze scanning the
cleft and the rocks on either side. 1t
was time for the police to come creep
ing around on the flank of the assas-
sin. A little more and the dusk would
render close shooting difficult. Yet
the precious moments slipped by, and
no sign of the police.
Over on the far side of the cleft
there was a faint CLINT Of metal in the
deepening shadow. Without a mo-
ment's hesitation Hardy aimed and
fired. The mountainside rang with a
| shrill yell. The bullet had found its
mark. Hardy leaped to his feet and
dashed up the mountain-side, keeping
behind shelter where it was available,
but in places boldly rushing up over
open spaces.
There, on the spot where he had
seen the CLINT, lie found u trace of
blood. The wounded mar had crept
away up the cleft. For several yards
Hardy followed the trail by the splash
as of crimson on the leaves ana rocks,
Then the traces ceased. But over In
one of the many cleftS on the far side
of the gap he thought he saw some
thing owe among the powders. He
sprintcd down the slope and across Tie
gap, his face flushed with excrtion
but his eyes still cold and hard.
Among the heaps of broken rocks II
the bottom Of the gap Hardy lost sigh
of the cleft for which he was heading
When he started to return along wha'
he supposed to be the passage b.
which he had entered, he soon fount
himself In n cul-de-sac. Dusk wa
now deepening into night. lie came
out and into II steep ascent between
o~vcrhangiug lodges. This certainl.
was not the way by which he had en-
tered, but he kept to 1t, eager to es
cape out of the maz
Night had fallen when at last h
reached the top Of the cleft and clam
bered up on II ridge crest. But the SIX.
was clear, and the starlight enable
him to see the outlines of the noun
tains that cut the skyline. A star lowe
down than any of the others caugh
his eye. He peercd ut It tixedly. TIL
little ~twlnklIng point of light wa
rot n start was n fire, two or tire
miles away across the intervening va
ley. Hardy took his bearings by tn
stars and started down the mountain
side directly toward the fire.
Once clear of the rocks Of the shar
tered mountain top, he found the goln
Unexpectedly easy. Almost from tn
first he had lost sight of the fire AN
ut no time did he see any trace of tn
trail to the mine. OF to the left /
heard the dimlnutlye o a of II mouI
tain rill dashing down Il ravine to joi
the main stream In the valley.
At last he came up over the edge
the rldgetOp, or terrace, on which Il
rill headed. The moment his eye
cleared the low underbrush below Il
few scattered pines lie perceived II
flicker of the fire for which he W;
looking. lie could make out the n
pearanCe OF the dark forms around Il
fire, but their number and the hal
dozen white tepees grouped around Il
i fire told him that he had not found Il
camp of his party.
lie had no more than made this Ill
" covery when II number of yclpin
4. snarling mongrel dogs rushed out
t, him like n pack of wolves. He m
., their attack by swinging his rifle bI
rel around In n circle. The coward
'e ours closed about him, but We're afrn
d to leap in within reach of the club.
he pause or hesitate when over t