The Tomahawk., 1918-03-14

90e explained. by ne must nav
recognized the men. There are many
footprints ut the ford, showing how
they moved over the ground as they
fought. So he could not have been
unconscious from the first blow
"Unless they were masked he must
have known them. 1t was light
enough" agreed Elliot. ,
"Peter is still trying to get the Off
GERS to accept bail, but I don't think
he will succeed. There is good deal
of feeling in town against you"
because 1 am supposed to lie an
enemy to ON open Alaska, judge"
"Mainly that. Wally Selfridge has
been salking a good deal. He takes it
for granted that you are guilty. Wen
have to wait in patience till Mr.. Mac
donald speaks and clears you"
Gopher stuck his head in at the door.
''Youll have to 60, ladies. Times up"
When Sheba babe the prisoner good
by it was with q phrase Of the old
Irish vernacIlar. "God save you
kindly"
He knew the peasants answer to the
wish and gave It, "And you, too"
The girl left the prison with mist
with a queer, ironic little smile of az
lection. To be in trouble was sure
passport to the sympathy OF Sheba.
Now both her lovers were In sad
| way. Diane wondered which of them
| would gain most from this new twist
of fate.
Selfridge had been shocked a. the
sight of Macdonald. The terrible beat
ing and the loss Of blood had Shipped
all the splendid, vital strength of the
Scotsman. His battered head was
swathed in banduges. but the white
face was bruised nnd disfigured. The
wounded man was weak us kitten;
only the steady eyes told that he was
still strong and unconquered.
II want to talk business for u1ln-
ute Miss Sedgwick. Will you please
step out?" said Macdonald to his
nurse.
She hesitated. 1.-THE doctor sawH~~
do as say, please"
The nurse left them ulOne. Halty
told the story of the evidence ag'unst
Elliot in four sentences. His fhle1
caught the point at once.
After Selfridge had gone, the woand~
ed man lay silent thinking out his pro-
gram. Not for a moment did he doubt
that he was going to live, and his blhin
was already busy planning for the fu-
ture. He knew now that in the vlt'-
lence of his anger against Elliot he
had made Il mistake. TO have killed
his rival would have been fatal to tho
Kamatlah coal claims, would have
alienated his best friends, and would
have prejudiced hopelessly his chances
with Sheba. Fate had been kind to
him. Hc had been in the wrong and 1t
had put him in the right. BY the same
cut of the cards young Elliot had been
thrust down from IN impregnable po-
sltion to one In which he was dis
credited suspect. With all this evil
dence to show that he had conspired
against Macdonald. his report to the
department would be labor lost.
Diane came into the sickroom strip
ping her gloves after the walk. Mac
donald smiled fcebly at her and fired
the first shot Of his campaign to dc.
feat the enemy.
"Has Elliott been captured YETI" hs
asked weakly.
The keen eyes of his hostess fas-
tened upon him. "Captured! What
do YOU mean? It was Gordon Elliot
that brought you in and saved your
| life"
brought me from where?"
"From where he found you uncon-
scious-at the ford"
''That's his story, is it,"
The young woman stood with her
gloves crushed tight in both hands. It
was her nature to be always n parti-
san. Without any reserve she was for
Gordon in this new fight upon him.
What had Wally Selfrldge been saying
to Macdonald? Did the mine owner
mean to suggest that he had identified
Elliot as one Of his assailants? The
thing was preposterous
And yet-that was plainly what he
had meant to imply. II he told such q
story, things would 20 hard with Cor
don. In court 1t would cllnch the case
against him by supplying the one MISS
ing link in the chain Of circumstantial
evidence.
Diane, in deep thought, frowned
down upon the wounded man, who
seemed already to have fallen into q
light sleep. She told herself that this
was some Of Wally Selfridge's devil
try. Anyhow, she would talk 1t over
with Peter.
The reason Wally was so pleased
with himself was that he had dropped
q hint into the ear Of the wounded
man not to clear Elliot Of completely
in the attack upon him. The news
that the special investigator had been
arrested for robbery and attempted
murder, flashed all over the United
States. would 60 far to neutrallze any
-ox,ork ho mi 0hf yn0ko ooofncf tho ,,o.