The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1920-09-11

| bdlHeu, ner glance wandered aDOu
the cell, seeking vainly for any sigr
OF weakness, and then, giving way ut
terly to her despair, the girl flung her
self on the bench. covering her eyes
TO shut out those hideous surroundings
What should she do? What could she
| do? What possibility of hope lay ir
| her own endeavOrs? From what
source could she expect any outside
help?
| After those first moments Of com
| plete despair. there came greater calm
| ness, In which her mind began to crap
! pie with the situation These outlaws
would never dare to take her life
There was no occasion for them to re
| sort to so desperate a deed And
why should Lacy desire to take her
life? Most assuredly he did not, or
the act would have been already accom-
| plished. The very fact of her hav-
ing been transported such distance
was sufficient evidence of his purpose.
The conspiratOrs merely suspected her
mission in Haskell; they were afraid
She knew more of their plans than si4e
really did. The telegram, stolen BY
Mis- La Rue, had convinced the lead
err that she might prove dangerous If
left II large. and they determined to
held her helpless until their scheme
had been worked out and they were
safely beyond pursuit. That was I'M
douhtedly the one object of her capture.
Lacy had no knowledge that Mendez's
band was at the rendezvous; Re sup
posed them to be on a cattle raid to
the south, with only a man or two Of
Cnvendish. Her mind grasped clear
ly now the fact that the man was not
dead. 1t had not been his body found
in the Waldron apartments, but that
Of some other man substituted for
purposes Of crime. Cavendish himself
had been lured westward, waylaid in
some manner and made prisoner, as
she and Westcott had suspected.
Through the cooperation Of Lacy
he had been brought to this desert
den, where he could be held Indefinite
ly, with no chance Of discovery-killed
IL necessary. She had heard of such
places as this, read Of them, yet never
before had she realized the possibility
Of their real existence. 1t all seemed
more like a delirium Of fever than
an actual fact. She rubbed her eyes,
gazing about on the rock walls, scare
~ sure she was actually awake. Why,
one might ride across the desert, and
pass by within hundred yards of its
rim, and never even be aware of the
existence of this sunken valley. Yet
these men must have made use of it
for years, as a place to hide stolen
cattle, and into which to retreat when
ever pursuit became dangerous.
Those huts without were not new
ly built, and this underground cavern
small labor What deeds of violence
must have happened here; what
scenes Of unbridled debauchery this
desert rendezvous must have wit
messed. She shuddered at the thought,
compreliending that these cells had
never been chiselled without a pur-
pose, and that she was utterly help
less in the hands of a band Of thieves
and cutthroats. to whom murder
meant little enough. If it only served
their ends MendeZ, no doubt, was
brute and monster, yet it was Juan
Cateras whom she really feared-he
was cruel, Shiny, seeking to hide his
behind that hideous smile;
and he had already chosen her for
his victim. Who would save her
Mendez? Lacy? She did not know;
and somehow neither of these was the
name which arose to her lips, almost
in the form OF prayer; the name she
whispered with faint throb of hope
in its utterance-Jim Westcott.
The big miner was all she had TO
rely upon; he had been in her nina
all through the long ride; he arose
before her again now, and she wei
coined the memory with a conscious
throh Of expectation. Those people
hack there could not conceal for long
her absence from him; if he lived ne
would surely seek her again.
Her womanIy instinct had read the
in the mans eyes; she was
NJ interest to him, he cared; 1t was
no mere ordinary friendliness Which
would bring him back; no! not even
tbeir mutual connection with the case
of Frederick Cavendish. Her eyes
frightened, and flush of color crepf
into her cheeks. She believed in him.
in his courage-he had appealed to
her as man.
Suddenly she seemed to realize the
warming Of her own heart. her utter |
faith in him. He would come, he |
must come; even now he might have |
her sudden disappearance.
and suspected the cause. He would
never believe any lies they might tell
that she had departed without a
word, without message-he would |
find out the truth somehow; he was !
not the kind to lie down. to avoid |
danger when It confronted duty-and,
besides, he cared. She knew this, |
uvffhout question there