Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1919-09-18
CHAPTER XII.
The Senior AGAIN..

SnAf Elk MI.
The Senior Again.
With splinters flying, shocked upon
its heavy hinges, the great oak door
was open. Stairway clipped through;
Vidal, his deep chest painting from his
h%erculean labor, ak still gripped in an
enormous hand, Came after him, his
fellows crowding after them.
A large this time, some thirty
feet square, furnished we'll blankets,
scattered morsels Of bread and meat,
showing that here Torres men had
been. A glance showed that the room
was empty of human occupants; a Sec
'ond glance found one nan lying close
to the wall, limp and inert, a red stain
upon his breast.
Stairway ran to- him, stopped, stood
straight with a little grunt of satisfac-
ton. 1t was not any one of the De Ia
Guerra household.
"Shot accidentally by one of his fell
lows" he muttered. Cor else De Ia
Guerra has got his hands on a revol-
'ver!'
A door at the far side of the room
sstood open; a candle still burned
brightly upon a little stand. There
had been NJ time lost in leaving.
Il hear men running yonder!" vi
'dal's big finger pointed through the
open door. "Come, c%ompadres!"
They ran with him, crowding to.
gether.
Again there was a hallway, this one
far down under the main floor and so
wide that three men might pass
abreast through it. There came a sharp
turn, the footsteps we're louder, men
were running toward them. And then,
as several men shot into view:
"Stop" cried Stairway, loudly, his
hand knocking Vidal's weapon up
ward. 1T is Gaucho and his men"
y where are they?" cried Gaucho, ex
citedly. '"The master? The senorita?
You did not find them?"
"You did not meet them?" in a sharp
cry from the rancher.
I'VE met no n !" Gaucho answered,
a locke wonder in his eyes.
'Then there is another door. They
have fooled us. Come! They can't
get out of the house."
! They turned, rushing back toward
the room they had just quilted. And
at the instant Stairway plunged back
through the doorway he knew where
were these men Of Torres.
For he heard Torres voice shouting
loudly just above his head where he
! had already Judged the drawing room
must be; he knew that through some
other passageway the men they had
thought to trap had made their way
there, and he remembered that his own
orders had been for one man only to
watch over the bound Tore and
Juarez.
"Nunez! Castro" Tore was call
ing, his tones ringing out clear, the
tones of command, calling for haste,
for swift obedience. "There is one
man here only. Kill him! All"
There was the crack of a revolver,
a cry, the sound of a body falling.
a"Now!" and again Torres voice
* rang triumphant. "Cut these damned
ropes, Castro! You others free Juarez.
Watch the doors. Guard the passage
way. BY the lord Of hell, We'll win
this game yetw
'They are too many" painted a dis
sentmg voice. We"
Coward and FOOL" cried Torres
echoing voice. "Give me that gun,
y Now, listen. I have found where the
4 De la Guerra banco is! It's just yon'
der in the old mans bedroom. It's
full Of gold, companeros. And then
watch the doors, amigos! Then cross
the border with our pockets full"
There came answering shouts, the
noise of heavy furniture being dragged
across the floor and piled at the doors
Torres voice giving commands.
"But where is the master?" a va
quero whispered anxiously. "They
have killed him."
"And the senoritaY" cried Gaucho.
They ran about the room, seeking
n sign of that other p~assageway which
had led these men directly into the
drawing room.
"We had better go back" command
ed Stairway crisply, after II shorI
search which showed nothing. 1--WE
Can brenk down the door into the room
where they are. Gaucho, Mentor. vi
dial, you men stay here NO that they
cannot play h~ide.and:seek with W