Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1920-06-17
CHAPTER xxI.-fCnnt1nnea

He leaves his draft for 5000 with the
CHAPTER XXI.-(Continued.)
The roar Of the falls had dulled a
little when suddenly a sound came out
a garment rubbing against some
rough surface. The Pearlhunter
stepped to m side of the passage and
hattened himself against the wall.
Out Of the dead silence the sound
came again. A grin lossened his
face. The very sound he had half ex-
pected-a horse ~contentedly MUNICH
ing his hay. -
He had been planning to trail the
man, at the first chance, to where he
had his horse hidden; and here 1t
was. 1t was the one thing he had
been counting on to run the man
down.
That. surprising and unexpected
leap through the falls-it cleared up
a good many points thai had been
puzzling the P%earlhunter no little.
For II thing,> it. accounted for the
clustering visit paid. them the first
night they poved from the house
boat to the cabin. The bandit would.
of course. no relish anybody taking
up a residence so near his hiding
place.
The horse went on munching his
hay. The Pearlhunter came out from!
against the wall and inched his way
.Ldeeper into the blackness Of the pass
.Iage. 1t abruptly widened until he
was no longer able to reach from one
wall to the other with his outstretcn-
ed arms. By some subtle super-sense
that sometimes marvelously comes in
to play when the other senses arc
helpless he gained a distinct impress
sion of space-of emptiness. Though
rdenied the use of his eyes, he knew
that the passage broadly expanded
just there and became a cave. He
stood in the very entrance of it. For
every ems at high pitch. Soft little
slithers Of sound were alive in, the
: silence. His ars strained like THIRSTY
tongues tt drink them up. It might
be the sound of breathing; it nigh,
be only the soft rasp of the hay. 1,
! was impossible to tell with certainty
He felt his way around the angle
lighted on a shallow pocket in the
5 rock. He fattened his body into il
f and again set his ears the task OF
sitting the silence. The horse made
very little noise at his supper, but /,
was enough to muff1e whatever softer
sounds might be aioat.
The next step-there was no helr
y A6hL DSopVIdLC LII OdHSCI'
oue-the first spark, n the cave
. kinight spring to life. Still. it was bet.
D ter than to stumble over a sleeping
, man: or walk into a knife. He tool
, two matches from his pocket ant
: held them in his left hand, one be
. tween forefingcr and thumb, the 9th
r er tucked ready in his palm; drew, hi.
revolver n softly cooked it. Will
the weapon balanced, his face to tn,
r open. cave, he reached his left nant
t along the wall to: the farthest stretch
2 of his arm. bringing, his body al fal
:. !, as possible from the light, n will
u his fingers fumbled out a spot suit
ably smooth and dry-for there mus
t be, no failure. The, match scraped. !
tiny flame leaped away from the rock
1t lighted up the place surprisingly.
The cave was not large-hardl.
twice the Size Of in ordinary room
+ The first swift glance showed 4 hin
that-except for the horse-it wa
empty.
The match burned out He lit tn
other. The stub of a candle caugh
his eve, stuck by its own tallow to al
9 outstanding stool of shale just beyon,
the mouth OF the passage. Hau h
turned to the left instead of to tn;
right upon sntering. he would hav
found it wen before making a light
8 He crossed the passage and held tn
n tludICH 10 Tie WlCk.F ~ M the OSLle
= light he studied the place more close
:. ly
Y The horse looked around once o
twice at the light and went on yer.
4 ~contentedly with his hay. The Re
:. Mask paid nothing for his feed-fo
2 his horse, either, for that matte,
When he wanted one. he simply too
It It. From certain markings. tn
: Pearlhunter knew the animal befor
z him to be Rocket, the famous race
. that had been stolen two years befor
eIfrom the training stables at Win
%cennes. The theft of the Great thor
!. oughbred had caused no end OF sti
= at the time, and the thief was hunte
is hard, but nothing came Of It. !,
l. The ave could not have been ia
below the ground, for an oak roo
had found Its way through the wal
1t.was to this that the horse was TIED
a saddle and other furnishings hun
from wooden pegs driven between-th
layers OF shale. Before the mon.h .
t a pocket almost directly opposite tn
10 entrance there was considerable pil
OF hay. q pile that Must have cost tn
i man pr0digieus amount Of labor I
N carry in. "A sackful OF ear-corn an
IL another better than half full; lay nea
the hay. roll Of blap kets tina
.e might. have very well served for a be
lay IN On oDposite corner. Anothe
step Or two before striking his mate
-would have brought the Pearlhpnter
j. feet upon them.
a white bundle near ~ bIankel
~attractsd his ~ He picked It i
ltiAnd unroIied sit--a gar1nents or two 4
d i1fhe white mnSlin-a wonian's RAJ
u msnts! The eyes 1of the pearlhunte
slittered; his nasers sripped II