The Raymer enterprise., 1919-05-29

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ORellly had bssa standing pstriAsd
his body forced tightly against tAs
rough surface behind him. following
with strained fascination the deliberate
movements Of the man above him; now
he saw Cobo. without the least appar.
ent reason. twist and shudder. saw him
stiffen rigidly a. II seized with . sud
den cramp. saw bis eyes dilate and
heard him heaye deep. whistling sigh.
O'Reilly could not imagine what allied
the fellow. For an. eternity. 20 Il
seemed. Cobo remained leaning upon
his outspread arms. fixed In that same
attitude Of paralysis looked almost
as II he had been startled by some
sound close By. But manifestly that
was not the cause Of his hesitation. for
bis face became convulsed and an a.
preston Of blank and utter astonish-
ment was stamped upon II. The men
stared fixedly at each other. O'Reilly
with his head thrown back. Cobo with
his body propped ngidly upon wooden
arms and that peculiar shocked inquiry
In his giaring eyea But slowly this
expression changed; the colonel bent
as II beneath a great weight, his head
rose and turned back upon his neck. hs
oiled his lungs with another wheezing
sigh. His teeth ground together. his
head began to wag upon his shoulders:
It dropped lower and lower: one hand
slipped from its hold and he lurched
forward. An instant he hung suspend
ed from the waist; then he appeared to
let 60 Imply o. all resistance went out
Of his big body. There came warning
rattle Of dirt and mortar and pebbles;
the next instant he slipped into tho
well and plunged hsadlong down upon
O'Reilly. an avalanche Of lifeless fesh.
Johnnie shielded himself with his up
flung arms, but be was driven to his
knees. and when he scrambled to hiS
feet half stunned. It was to nnd him
self In utter darkness. There was .
heavy weight against his legs. With .
strength born Of horror and revulsion
he freed himself: then hearing no
sound and feeling no movement. b
fumbled for the candle and with clumsy
fingers managed to relight It Even
after the fame had leaped out and he
sew what shared the pit with him he
could barely credit his senses. The M
ture Of his deliverance was uncanny,
supefnatural-it left him dased. He
had beheld death stamped upon Cobo'e
writhing face even while the fellow
braced himself to keep from falling.
but what force had effected the phe.
nomenon, what unseen hand had strick-
en- him. Johnnie was at loss to com
prehend It seemed q miracle. indeed
untH he looked closer. Then he un-
derstood. Cobo lay In formless. bone.
less heap; he seemed to be all arms
and legs; his face was hidden. but b.
tween his shoulders there protruded
the crude wooden handle Of q home
made knife to which q loop Of cord waS
tied.
0Reilly stared stupidly at the
weapon; then he raised his eyes. Pesr-
Ing down at him out Of the night was
another face, an impertinent beardless
youthful face.
He uttered Jackets name. and the
boy answered with q smile. Bring my
knife with You when you come" tho
latter directed
"Youi" The Americans voice was
weak and shaky. II thought" he set
the candle down and covered his eyes
momentarily.
'That's q good knife. all right, and
sharp, too. The fellow died In q hurry,
chi Who does he happen to bel"
Don't you knowi It-it's Cobo.s
sCobol Cobo. the baby-killer |"
Jacket breathed an oath. "Oh, that
blessed knifei" The boy craned his
small body forward until he was In
danger Of following his victim. "Now.
this II good luck indeed And to think
that he died Just like any other man"
"Rosal Where 10 shef" O'Reilly In
quired In q new agony Of apprehension.
"Oh, she IL here" Jacket assured
him. carelessly. II think she has
tainted"
"Help me out quickl Here. ateA
this rope" Johnnie managed 70 ding
tho coil within reach Of S's ,ltt,s frisnd
and q moment later be u.sse, hoist-A
himself from that pit Of tragedy.
CTo BE CoNTINUED)
one-Man Pontoons.
Buildin1 bridges under nrA. thn