The Raymer enterprise., 1920-04-29
ILLUSTRATIONS. BY IRWIN MYERS
Copyright by A. c. Meclufg 4 Co.
CHAPTER xvl-contlnued.


CHAPTER xvi-contlnued.
~
"Klrby. stand up. Drop that rifle
take 1t. EloIse. Now raise your hands
Tim"
"Whut's upT'
us there anything serious going on
outsider"
mo: nuthin' much-just pow
wowin'. Yer want me?"
SEARCH that scoundrel for weapons.
Don't ask questions; do what say"
He made short work Of It. using no
gentle methods.
"Wal'. the gent wasn't exactly harm.
less" he reported. grinnlng cheerfully.
"considerin' this yere knife On cannon.
Now. maybe yen tell me whut the
his up7'
Kirby stood erect, his dark eyes
searching our faces, his lips scornful.
"And perhaps, Mr.. Lieutenant
Knox" he added sarcastlcaIly. "You
might condescend to explain to me
also the purpose Of this outrage"
with pleasure" but without lower
Ing my rife. "This boy here belonged
to the company Of soldiers massacred
yesterday morning. You know where
mean. He was the only one to escape
alive, and he saw you there among the
savnges-free. and one OF them.'
!"He tells you thatl And you accept
the word Of that half-witT'
He described your appearance to
us exactly twenty-four hours ago.
never thought OF you nt the time, al.
though the description was accurate
enough, because 1t seemed so impos-
slble for you to have been there. But
that isn't all. Kirby. What has become
of the emblem pin you wore In your
tie7 II is gone, l see"
His hand went up involuntarily. 1t
n possible he had never missed 1t be-
fore, for look OF lndeclsion came into
the mans face-the first symptom of
weakness had ever detected there.
ut must have been lost-mlslald-"
ut was; and chance to be able to
tell you wherein this very room.
Here Is your pin, you lncarnatc devil.
l found 1t caught In those blankets
yonder. This Is not ycnr first visit to
this cabin, you were here with Indian
murderers."
''It's d-d lie"
But Kennedy had him, locked In n
vise-like grip. II was well he had, for
the fellow had burst into frantic
rage, yet was bound so utterly helpless
as to appear almost pltlful. The
knowledge Of what he had planned, Of
his despieable treachery, left us mer-
ciless. In spite Of his struggles we
bore him TO the floor. and pinned him
there, cursing and swapping like a
wild beast.
"Tear up one OF those blankets" I
called back over my shoulder to Hall.
"Yes, Into strips, of course; now bring
them here. Tim. you tie the fellow
yes. do good Job. I'll hold him. Lie
still. Kirby, or ! shall have to give you
the butt OF this gun In the face"
He made one last effort to break
free. and, us my hand attempted to
close on his throat. the clutehlng fing-
ers caught the band Of his shirt, and
ripped II wide open. There, directly
before me. scar across his hairy, ex-
posed chest. was broad, black mark,
tribal totem. l stared down ut 1t,
recognizing Its significance
by Heaven, Tim, look at this" /
cried. "He Is an Indian hlmself-a
black Saels
do not know what delayed the
atthck of the savages, unless they were
waiting for some signal which never
came. ! passed from loophoIe to loop
hole. thus assuring myself not only
that they still remained, but that the
cabin was completely surrounded. al
though the manner In which the war
riors had been distributed left the
great mass Of them opposite the front.
The others evidently composed a mere
guard to prevent escape. No move
ment could observe indicated an i'm
mediate assault. they rather appeared
to be awaiting something.
Those | saw were all dIsmounted,
and had advanced toward the cabin ns
closely as possible without coming
within the range of guns. They had
also sheltered themselves as far as
possible behind clumps Of brush. or
ridges Of rock. so that found 1t diff
cult TO estimate their number. Only
occasionally would venturesome
warrior appear for a moment In the
open, as be glided stealthlly from the
protection Of one covert to another.
No doubt some were brought within
range Of our rifles, as these efforts
were usually made to more advanced
positions, but I forbade firing, In the
vague hope that. not hearing from
Kirby. the chiefs might become dis
couraged and draw of without riskIng
IN open attack.
This was more desperate hope.
rather than any real faith ! possessed.
Beyond doubt the Indian chief knew,
or thought he knew. our exact strength
before he consented to use his war
eiors In this assault.
II the band had trailed us to this