Gunnison news-champion., 1920-02-06
CHAPTER VII.
Jitsndra Disappears.

sleep-heavy countenance Of Herbert
Hardinge. The two sat In the tenn
porary official headquarters Of the pro-
little before dawn.
Your bird has flown. senor," he
tersely observed.
what do you meanr' Hardinge's
dismayed face grew gray beneath its
reddish tan.
Moreno shrugged his shoulders.
Il have the honor to inform you.-
punc,illlousiy sneered the insurrecto.
that Senior Williams escaped from his
cell some time tonight and Is still at
large. have given orders that he
shall be brought In. dead or alive. My
men are searching everywhere for him.
We learned Of II an hour ago. when
the officer OF the night changed the
guards at the prison.
'Why-it's impossible!" gasped
Hardinge. "How did he manage to do
jtT'
I'VE do not know. The sentry at
the gate was found with his skull
crushed and the gate open. Williams
WAS gone. The guard who was on
duty in the corridor. and who was per.
sonnliy responsible for the security Of
the prisoners. Is under suspicion, but
he cannot be found"
did the other prisoner escape also
the one claiming to be British sub
Ject1"
mo. ! do not understand why. We
found him asleep In the cell. He an
swers no questions. He will be exc
cuted at sunrise. and Williams will be
shot wherever found-those are my
orders"
Hardinge nodded uneasily.
The escape was thing he had not
counted upon. With FL Tigres owner
at large, his plans for seizing the mine
might not be SO easily carried out. The
American government might make
representations to Great Britain or
Mexico. through diplomatic channels.
Hardinge's position, In that event,
would be far from enviable. The little
brown man who had been In the cell
during his Interview with williams q
few hours before might also prove to
he an awkward stumbling block. With
him gone. there would at least be no
confirmatory witness TO his threats.
Hardinge rose from his chair.
The first faint simmer of the dawn
was glinting the tops Of the hills In the
east. The time for the execution was
near. and the Englishman determined
to observe the removal Of, at least. one
possible impediment to his future
schemes.
'Five million dollars Ii too big O
stake to take any more chances Of
losing" he muttered ~ he reached the
jail gate. II might have known that
. resolute fighter like Williams would
be up to some trick-probably he
promised that guard enough pesos to
make him rich. II I'd been at all clever
would have seen this thing through
myself. even II had to walk that foul.
smelling corridor all night to make
sure"
He slipped into the jail yard. heed.
less Of the glorious beauty Of the new
day. just in time to see the frail figure
Of the Hindu as he emerged from the
building. 8
Jitendra was curiously calm-the
face Of Buddha himself could not have
been more inscrutable, nor unmoved
BY fear. He chanted something In 4
low. clear tone as he passed Hardinge
without q look Of recognition.
The agent for the United Kingdom
Exploration company shivered.
There was quality IN the timbre Of
F., that voice suggesting . mysterious.
malign presence sense Of something
lowering over and around the place Of
death, invisible but. nevertheless, very
real. The words. too. were disquieting.
II the red slayer think hs slays,
Or II the slain think he u slain,
They little know the subtle ways
keep. and passs and turn again.
Jitendra paused. waitiag meekiy for
directions. The corporal in command
Of the squad pointed toward the wall.
'Your sentence has been set aside,
senior. There Is the path to the street"
The prisoner had not been bound.
As the gate Of the jail yard swung
invitingly open the leering soldiers
parted their ranks, resting their rifes
ON the ground-assuming an air Of
careless indifference but. nevertheless.
covertly watching the man.
they're going to give him II ley
fuega." shivered Hardinse. Il guess
Noreno's got cold feet on his court
martial eentence-don want to take
chances o6icially. wish I hadn't told
him yesterday that this fellow claimed
to BE- British subject. II he should
prove q good spfintsr and they should
miss"
He chilled and broke o6.
Jitendfa stepped lightly and without
emotion toward the gate. dinging back
over his shoulder the Innocent smile Il
Q pleased child Hardfnge heard H.
n 49,