The Tabor independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1913-19??, 1919-07-17

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with the firm jaw and the blue gray
eyes Of steel who steadily demanded
the missing man. They offered to send
him back to the cen Of the accident
with a man to help him, and author
ity to get assistance from their work
men to search the river and vicinity,
This offer Jasper finally accepted and
the next morning was on his way back.
The last time Holt had seen Scath,
lin he had not really BEL him at all,
he had merely sensed his presence In
the darkness. .'.l
They had both been sleeping
.Scathlin with the relaxation Of one
who no longer needs to be on the
alert, Holt with half his senses on
guard--when the crash came. Splinter.
ing glass and a rush of cold air brought
Holt clearly to himself. The q had
been turned on end and was sinking,
sinking down with creak and gron;
and the two men were thrown together
for a monet into the aisle, clinging to
the arms OF the seats. Holt had heard
the terrible oaths with which Scathlin
wont to embroider his speech even
on calmer occasions. They sounded
now like a challenge to the Almighty.
The younger man had reaohed out a
hand in the darkness to strike the
other, and had uttera~ single sentence
"Cut that QUIT" but the profanity con.
tinued, and Scathlin had struck him a
blow blindly cross his eyestwhich be-
wiidered him for a second and made
the confusion more black and terrible.
Then he had been aware that Scathlin
al scrambling up ove the arm Of the
seat to the window, and was abouI
climbing out. The red glow from out
side flared up and showed Scathlin's
bulk against the night, his head and
shoulders already out Of the window,
the stream Of oaths not SO distanct
now because they were flung to the
outdoor world.
1t was then that he realized that
Scathlint was escaping from him and
he must not let him get away. Even
in such a situation he remembered his
long quest, and pulling himself UP by
main force, caught Scathlin by the
foot. Suddenly he remembered the
curious actions of Scathlin the day be-
fore, and his fumbling with his shoe
strings afterwards. The shoe Holt held
in his firm grip was laced and tied in
a hard knot, but Hollis knife was ready
and he cut the string in several places.
Scathlin did not stay for shoes. He
left his footgear readily in his pur,
hands and made good his escape
but Mott, forgetful Of his peril for the
moment, searched In the. shoe and
found a folded paper.
. It>was too dark to tell If the paper
were one of those he sought. He put
il safely in his pocketbook for further
Investigation, felt in the shoe carefully
once more to make ure there was not
another, and then, climbed out Of the
window after Scathlin. But when he
dropped into the melee believe he
could not see Scathlin anywhere.
There were some rocks far belof, and
down there he had thought he saw a
white face as he first looked from the
window before he leaped, when the
fire broke out with a flare. But after
he had dropped and found himself: in
rocks again, and while he was search
ing he saw another victim drop and
sink and rise again, and he went to her
rescue. So had Scathlin had his wish
and escaped from the train before they
reached the region of Hawk Valley.
Holt and his assistant searched the
scene of the wreck until the young
man was convinced that further search
there was useless, and sent the man
back to the city. Then he dropped
down the rive rbank and talked with
one or two men onSthe- wrecking crew
while they were waiting for the con-
s~truction train to come and bear them
back to their camp, and here for the
first time he got a clue. They had
found a man down IN the rocks with
a broken leg a whole day after tho
others had been taken to the city hos.
pital., Some bushes had hid him and
no one had noticed him till they heard
him grooming and cursing. A man who
said he had a shack up a piece had
taken him in his wagon. He had prom,
ised to get a doctor and fix the mar
up. The man himself had begged them
to shoot him. He was almost out OF
his head with suffering. Their vague
description tailed with S~cathlin's
rought appearance and Holt became
convinced he had found his man.
Making the best he could out OF
their indefinite directions. for they
really had not much idea Of the local
ity Of that shack themselves, Holt
started off in search.
He found Scathlin before nightfall
that. same day. lying alone and moan
ing with pain and fever In the de
serted shack. The householder had
gone away at dawn on business. prom
fsing a speedy return, but had not
come back, and Scathlip. his broken
bone set rndeiy by an unskiiled hand
lay suffering tormcnts. When Holi
pushed the door open and looked In he
Started up with q yell. his eyes pro
truding in fear. He thought that Holt
was dead IN the fire Of the wreck
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