The Jasper news. [volume] (Jasper, Missouri) 1898-1924, 1919-08-28
EPISODE NO. Ia.
WHAT HAS GONE BEFORE.

The only key to the location of a buried
treasure is a chart flag cut up and divided
years before among SIX adventurers. DICK
and Polly have one piece and Scarface
second. He kills Poly's father, gets her
flag and starts after the treasure. Other
holders Join Dick and they pursue Scar
face to the Gulf of Mexico. battling ban
dts and hostile Aztecs. They are cap
tured on a raft by Scarface and left
buried to their necks on the beach to
perish In the rising tide.
Tomas. scouting along the top of
the cliff in search of Dick and his
friends, heard the shooting as the out
laws attacked the stockade and peer
ing over the edge caught sight of the
four heads all but submerged by the
tide. As n wave reccded. he recognized
his friends and their weak struggles
told him they vet were alive.
Greatly distressed to see his friends
and especially Polly. for whom he
had conceived the utmost admiration
because of her bravery. left in sit
uation so desperate and mercilcss.
Tomas lost no time in attempting to
bring about their rescue. Yet how
that for the moment baffled him since
the cliff at the point where he stood
was too preciptous to be descended
and of too great height for his
larnt to be Of any use In lowering
himself down. Yet down he must 20
and that quickly, and he began rae
ing along the edge in search of some
nj r.hn tI,n -, Nccn
holds enough so that he could make
the attempt without the certainty of
being dashed to pieces upon the hard
sands far below. And just in the
nick of time his search was rewarded.
for short distance before him his
eyes fell upon place where the cliff
had scaled back slightly and there
was the bare possibility OF an active
man being able to slide. and scramble
down.
Sliding over the edge of the cliff
10 n ledge, he ran along to where
the water deepened and leaped out
into the sea. Swimming to shore, he
seized one of the boards Scarface had
used to dig the graves and started
TO dig Dick out but Dick mOtoned
to save Polly first. The Indian re-
leased the girl and dragged her to
place of safety and then dug out the
others. One minute later and they
would have been drowned but they
soon recovered their strength and the
firing having increased nll started
down the beach.
Briefly Dick told Tomas of their
wonderful journey through the noun
tainS on the bosom of the subter-
ranean river. and how they had mr.
rived mt the ocean worn out by their
long fast and terrific experience in
total darkness. The Indian listened
silently until he had finished, then
said:
That Scarface one heap devil
But now him and his fellows think
YOU all dead and they will not look
behind. So when we catch up with
them we can jump on their back Hike
mountain lions when they no think
we are near. And then when Tomas
get Scarface by the throat" The
Indian ceased speaking and drew his
long knife with q grin.
Go to him." gritted Dick. II have
spared him before this because we are
white people and don't like to kill our
enemies except II is an open fight
where they have chance to defend
themselves. But after the way he
left us there In the sand I wouldn't
lift my finger to save him If you had
him in your power"
Meanwhile Chu. within his stock.
ade, had been host unto himself.
Knowing that should he surrender or
he overpowered he could expect moth
ing but death at the hands of the des-
perate ones without. he fought on with
the stolld Indifference of an Oriental
who believes that ali things are fore
ordained md will end I'm the foreor-
dnined way. The belief that his white
friends had come to their deaths Mt
the hnnds Of Scarface made him boil
with rage, and nothing would have
pleased him better than to have been
nble TO exterminate the whole outlaw
gang as lie would have tramped out a
nest of vipers. Still, playing his
hand alone and unassisted as he was,
he well knew that in the end num-
bers must prevail and that he would
be either killed or overpowered. His
only hope was that he might kill a
number of his foes before this han
pene1 and encouraged by that hope
he never for an instant relaxed his
desperate defense of the stockade.
Chu, shooting from one place and
then another, had up to this time kept