The Oakley herald. [volume] (Oakley, Idaho) 1908-1961, 1920-12-31
CHAPTER VI-Continucd.

A form blotted the moonlight upon
the floor with living splotch of shad-
ow. An arm came in at the door; a
hand fumbIed behind the easement.
That was all. No face appeared. A
moment or two, and the arm disap-
peared; the splotch of shadow slid off
the square of moonlight the soft foot
falls slipped away around the east end
of the cabin and muffled into silence.
Very softly the Pearlhunter rose to
ahIs feet. The light outside was far
too bright to risk venturng forth. 1t
would have betrayed him instantly
He glanced around the cabin. The
moon had passed by the east window.
SO that 1t was in the shadow He
stole across the floor and peeped out
through a broken pane.
A man was picking his way up the
bluff. lie seemed in no great hurry,
nor in the least distlehed. At the top
of the bluff he stopped and looked
back. In his brief instant of pause be-
fore striding away into the woods the
moon picked him out clear as day. 1t
was the Man-in-the- Fancy-Vest.
There was no more sleep for the
Pearlhunter He left the window.
went to the cabin door and felt behind
the easement where the hand had
CROPPED. His fingers came In contact
with a tiny bundle wedged between
the logs and the door frame. He drew
II forth and unrolled 1t in the moon
light, deemng 1t imprudent to light
the candle. Even before the moon
beams fell upon the thing he knew by
a certain disquieting premonition what
II would prove to be-a red mask
He felt along the wall to the chinls
above the table and poked his fingers
between 1t and the logs, where he had
concealed the packet the evening they
moved into the cabin. II was still
there. He drew 1t forth and compared
il with the other. They were almost
identical, and of a pattern with the
one he had seen that afternoon at the
three gabled cabin.
He sat down by the table and
dropped his chin I'm his palm What
did it mean? What must 1t mean
this last one? He knew the meaning
of the first-dropped by chance. He
had a very plausible surmise as to the
story of the other. the one with the
knife thrust through 1t at the three
gabled cabin. But this one-tlss last
one?
The man wanted to hide that bit of
cloth right there. But why? The Pearl
hunter raked his brain for the answer.
Why? He must have been ignorant
that the other was hidden behind the
chink. or why should he have taken
such pains TO hide this one? He was
probably ignorant of the fact that he
had dropped the other one in the cab
In that night; possibly did not know
where he had lost 1t. 1t was even con-
ccivable that the loss of II may have
accustomed him Eo small anxiety. If
he did not Lnors that he had dropped
the other mask in the cabin, he prob
ably was unaware that the Pearlhunt-
er knew him. The young man sat still
a long time over. that thought.
That he could with such apparent
readiness supply himself with another
mask after the first was lost suggested
a nearby rendezvous. undoubtedly
somewhere In the Flatwoods--a rem
cezvous. or confederate. But that
was unlike him--to have confed-
crate. He was known to work alone.
A. his horse he would not likely al
r~S' himself to get far from it. He
wouldn't dare, ride 1t into the village.
Ror&rA .hs famous thoroughbred of