Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1918-11-07

digging a knife whi.h he had
borrowed from Davanne into the
interstices between the stones, he
managed it.
And when he was on the other
side he discovered the tracks of
the tires running to the left, to-
ward a part of the grounds which
ne did not know, more undulating
than the other and broken up
with little hills and ruined build
ings covered with thick curtains
of ivy.
Deserted though the rest of the
park was, this portion seemed
much more uncivilized, in spite of
the ragged remains of box and
laurel hedges that stood here and
there amidst the nettles and
brambles, and the luxuriant
swarm of tall wild flowers, val
erian, MULLEN, hemlock, foxglove,
and angelica.
Suddenly, on turning the cor
ner Of an old hedge of clipped
yews, Don Luis saw the limousine,
which had been left, or, rather,
hidden there in a hollow. The
door was open. The disorder of
the inside of the car, the rug
hanging over the footboard, a
broken window, a cushion on the
floor, all bore witness to a'strug-
gle. The scoundrel had no doubt
taken advantage of the fact that
Florence was asleep to tie her up;
and on arriving, when he tried
to take her out of the car, Flor
encc must have clutchcd at every
thing that offered.
Don Luis at once verified the
correctness of his theory. AS he
Went along the very narrow, grass
grown path that led up the slope,
he saw that the grass was uni
formly pressed down.
ooh, the villain!" he thought.
"The villain! He doesn't carry
his victim, he drags her!!"
If he had listened only to his
instinct, he would have rushed to
Florence s rescue. But his pro-
found sense of what to do and
what to avoid saved him from
committing any such imprudence.
AT the first alarm, at the least
sound, the tiger would have throt-
tied his prey. To escape this hid
eous catastrophe, Dom Luis must
take him by surprise and then and
there deprive him of his power of
action. He controlled himself,
therefore, and slowly and cauti>
ously mounted the incline.
The path ran Upward between
heaps of stones and fallen build
ings, and among clumps Of shrubs
overtopped by beeches and oaks.
The place was evidently the site
OF the old feudal castle which had
given the estate it's name; and
1T was here, near the top, that
the scoundrel had selected one of
his retreats.
The trail continued over the
trampled heritage. And Don Luis
even caught sight of something
Singing on the ground, in a tuft
of grass. It was a ring, a tiny
and very simple ring, consisting
of a gold circlet and two small
pears, which he had often noticed
on Florence's finger. And the
fact that caught his attention was
that a blade of grass passed and
repassed and passed a third time
through the inside of the ring.
like a ribbon that had been rolled
round it deliberately.
cts a clear signal" said
Perenna to himself. "The villain
probably stopped here to rest +;
and Florence, bound up, but with
her fingers free, was able to leave
this evidence of her passage"
So the girl still hoped. She ex-
pected assistance. And Don Luis
reflected with emotion that it was
perhaps to him that this last des-
perate appeal was addressed.
Fifty steps farther-and this
detail pointed to the rather cur
ious fatigue experienced by the
scoundrel-there was a second
halt and a second clue, a flower,
q field sage, which the poor little
hand had picked and plucked of