The Elk Mountain pilot. [volume] (Irwin, (Ruby Camp), Gunnison County, Colo.) 1880-19??, 1919-10-09
CHAPTER XXI.

CHAPTER XXI.
The End Of the Chateau.
Darkness impenetrable about me,
and a thick air that l breathed with
great gasps that hardly brought relief
to my choking throat. And a voice
out Of the darkness crying ceaselessly
in my ears:
"Help mel Help metz
raised myself and tried to struggle
to my feet. found that could move
my limbs freely. tried to rise upon
my knees, but the roof struck my head.
I stretched my arms out, and touched
the wall on either side Of me.
must have been stunned by the
conclusion Of the landslide. By q
miracle had not been struck.
"Help mel Help mel"
tried to ind the voice. crawlod
three feet toward 1t. and the wall
stopped me. But the voice was there.
It came from under the wall. felt
about me In the darkness. and my
hand touched something damp. I
whipped 1t back in horror. It was the
face Of q man.
There was only the face. Where the
body and limbs ought to have been was
only rock. The face was on my side
Of q wall Of rock. pinning down the
body that lay outstretched beyond.
recognised the voice now. It was
that Of Philippe Lacroix.
"Ah, mon Dieul Help ma Help
mel"
He continued to repeat the words IN
every conceivable tone. and his suffsf-
ing was pitiable. felt one hand come
through the tiny opening In the wall
and grasp at me.
"Who 10 itr' be mumbled. 'Is that
you. HEWLETT For Gods sake. kin
mel"
I crouched beside him, but did not
know what to say or do. I could only
wait there. that he might not die alone.
~Give mo q knifel" he mumbled
again; clutching at me. "A knife.
HEWLETT Don't leave me to die like
thisi Bring Pere Antoine and my
mother. want to tell her-to tell
her
He muttered In his delirium until
his voice died away. thought that he
would never speak again. But present
" he seemed to revive again to the
consciousness Of his surroundings.
"Are You with me, Hewlettr' he
whispered.
I placed my hand in his. and he
clutched at It with feverish force.
you will have the gold, Hewlett
he muttered, apparently ignorant that
I, too. was a prisoner and In hardly
better plight. II tried to kill You, Hew.
lett. Are you going to leave mo to die
alone In the dark nowr'
"No," I answered. 1T doesn't mat
ter, Lacroix." And, really, It did not
matter.
II wanted to kill you." his voice
rambled on. 'Lacroix Is dead. ]
watched him die. l thought if-you
died, too, no one but would know the
secret Of the gold. tried to murder
you. blew up the tunneli"
He paused, and I heard him gasp
for breath. His fingers clutched at my
coat sleeve again and hoped them
selves round mine like claws os steel.
II had q knife-once," he resumed.
relapsing into his delirlum but left
1t behind me and the police got It
Isn't It odd, Leroux." he rambled on,
shat one always leaves something be-
hind when one has killed a mani But
the newspapers made no mention about
the knife. You didn't know he was
dead, did you. Leroux, for all your
cleverness, until that fool Hewlett left
that paper upon the tablet You knew
enough to send me to jail. but you
didn't know that 1t was who killed
him. Help mel" He screamed hor-
ribly. "He is here, looking at met"
..There Is nobody here. Philippe"
said. trying to soothe his agony Of
soul. What q poor and stained soul
II was, travelling into the next world
aionei '4There u nobody but me, Phil.
ippeI"
you lie I" he raved. Louis 10 here I
He has come for mel He deserved to
die. He tricked me after We had found
the gold. He tricked me twice. he
told Leroux, thinking that he would
win his gratitude and get free from
the mans power. And the second time
he told Carson. Then there were three
of us in the secret"
"what did you DOR asked. though
It was like conducting q post-morten
upon q murderer's corpse.
(To BE coNTINUED.)
Our country's Birth.