The twice-a-week Twin Falls times. (Twin Falls, Idaho) 1916-1918, 1918-01-01

ing curtain of smoke that enVelOped
him. Now. by an effort that was SUI
perhuman and which Slapped every j
ounce of his energy he braced him
self and hurried He had thought, a
moment before that he had heard
Mans voice calling for help in one
OF the passages which led off from /
that in which he was trapped. Floun-
dering along as quickly as his weak
legs would permit and feeling his
way with his hands. more than see
ing. he reached a turn and halted to
listen. The smoke, here driven on
by the draft where the two tunnels
met was less dense He was able to
breathe freer and regain some of the
strength which had left him AS
Gwyn stood there, wondering which
way to proceed and listening atten-
lively to every little sound, with the
hope of again hearing Mans voice.
another sound, almost as encouraging, .
reached his ears. II was a sharp,
hollow barl1-the bark of Hogan's dog
and it came from the direction of the .
tunnel in front Of Gv9n.
Without listening further Gwyn
made his way along, guided by the /
barking of the dog. At length, when
/ the barking grew distinct and closer, +
Gwyn stopped again When he re-
sumed his walking. it was to advance
slowly and cautiously 1t seemed to /
him now, that the dog must be lower.
/ perhaps in one OF the galleries or
/ lodges i'm the same tunnel but deeper.
In another moment. he discovered that /
+ this was a fact for, directly ahead
of him, he could see the drop which
led TO the lower gallery He advanc-
ed carefully, making sure of his foot
] mr. 1a. fnI- I,o
smoke, at this point. was we'll clear
ed away. and there remained but a
thin veil of it. Below, however it
was darker. and Gwyn could not see
distinctly AS he looked, the figure
OF the dog, moving about and claWing
ct the wall in an attempt to get up
to the higher level. could plainly be
discerned And, beside the dog.
stretched out on the ground. Gwyn
could see, as his eyes became accus-
toned to the darkness, human form.
1t was too dark below for recogni-
ton. but the sight filled Gwyn with
horror
Cwyn raised himself to his feet-he
had been lying flat on the ground as
he was peering over the ledge-and
made his way around to point
where the floor OF the tunnel sloped
more gradually TO the lower gallery.
Here he went down and reached the
dog and the body. AS he leaned over
to look more closely az the form ly-
ing on the ground, he started up in
surprise. Instead of the body of Nan
he had found that of Shoestring Drant,
lying in a little pool of blOOd-dead.
Gwyn reached down and examined
the figure. 1t was certain that the
outlaw had been killed by a fall from
the upper gallery; there was no sign
of a bullet wound anywhere upon him.
Just as Gwyn was about to leave and
continue his search, which now seem
ed beyond all hope, the sign of some
thing clasped tightly in the dead
mans hand attracted his attention. He
picked it up, and glancing at it in
the light of a smOldering beam, ut
tered a little cry. 1t was a bit of
cloth which Gwyn recognized having
been torn from Mans dress. Shoe
string. then must have encountered
his wife in the minel This account
ed, also, for the presence of the dog.
But what had become of Nan after she
and the outlaw had met? Here was
the mystery that confronted Gwyn.
Gwyn. accompanied by the animal
= made his way rapidly along the tun-
! mel until he reached the little open
ing in the wall of the mine through
( which the light had come 1t was a
small hole, just sufficiently large for
Z him to crawl through, which he did.
: The refreshing air invigorated him
Z greatly, and he felt a new life throb-
8 bling in his veins as he breathed it.,
z after his long imprisoned in the
Z smoke-filled, musty mine. Rising be-
fore Gwyn, on a steep incline, was a
slope that led to a plateau some fifty
feet above From this plateau, and
Z reaching down TO a level with where
: he stood, dangled a rope, which was
apparently attached to a tree above.
Someone has gone up here before
me-" Gwyn ruminated q don't see
Z how Nan could have done it, either.
9 She must have been pretty much all
Z in after her experience in the mine.
4 However, there's no other way she
Z could have gotten out"
He grasped the rope tugged at it
z to make sure that it was secure, and
Z climbed up, hand over hand. At the
Z top, standing on the plateau, Gwyn
z was able to recognize his surround
ings. Now, for the first time in hours,
z he knew where he was. The entrance
to the main shaft. where the others
& must be waiting, he knew, was not far
z distant, though it was hidden from
Z view by a heavy growth of trees and
3 shrubbery. Behind this screen, Gwyn
knew, ran the road which led to the
z town of Lost Mine.
AS he emerged from the woods and
Z approached the edge OF the road he
z saw Casey rushing madly toward him,
Z shouting and pointing down the road.
Z When Casey caught sight of Gwyn he
4 stopped suddenly.
Thank God, you're safe" he yelled.
= But looki See what's happened to
4 Mani They've got her, the dirty
l. fc,-
4 as fast as their horses can run. We've
q got to do something quick. Come on I"