Iron County record. [volume] (Cedar City, Utah) 1893-1982, 1920-12-17

Whose uylng glow furnished the only
light.
1t was long minute before his
measured breathing revived her cour.
age. She sided out noiselessly in her
stockinged feet, watching him sus-
piciously. But the sleep that follows
an emotional crisis, always profound.
annulled the precautions he had TAX.
en- to prevent precisely what was hap
pening.
At the edge Of the veranda she de-
iayed long enough to take her slippers
from the pockets of the motoring
wrap and put them on. Then she
stepped down to the soft turf and
sped swiftly round the bungalow to the
garage.
Its doors were open-as she already
knew. for view of the garage was
commanded by the side window Of
Leonoras bedchamber. Cold moonlight,
slanting In. picked out the blind lamps
OF the car and the bright work Of bon
net and windshield
With humping heart she slipped
into the drivers seat and CROPPED for
the lighting and ignition controls of
the dash. The luck seemed to be with
her now; the switchboard had not
been locked.
Her foot depressed the starting
pedal, and in the great hush the will
Ing drum of the motor reverberated
Ike a long roll heraldlng the Trump
OF Doom. simultaneously meshing the
gears In first speed, Priscilla let the
clutch In somewhat too suddenly. The
car jumped like startled animal and
leaped out of the garage She heard,
or thought she heard, shout from
within the bungalow, and in her haste
bungled the shift to second speed, so
that the gears ground and screeched
Internally. Nevertheless, the car
moved down to the road at a swifter,
smoother pace.
In passing she saw, out Of the
corner of her eye, Mario run out onto
the veranda, pause, then dash madly
toward the car. She bore heavily on
the accelerator and made the third
shift smoothly enough. an instant later
rounding into the road on not more
than two wheels. Angry shouts In
the rear told her that Mario had failed
to overtake her.
To moderate store Of amateurish
driving ability alone she owed not one
but dozen breath-taking escapes. The
road twisted and turned in way to
test the ability Of skilled hand at
the wheel, in the first few miles sell
dom running straight for as much as
two hundred yards. The grade grew
by degrees less dangerous, however,
the road less serpentine; there were
presently stretches of almost level run
ming.
After time the road forked, and
perhaps two miles farther on It forked
again. Being utterly ignorant of the
lay of the land, but guessing that the
valley was on her right. Priscilla in
both Instances took the rIght-hand
track. Well beyond the second fork
the car dropped swiftly down short
hut steep declivity, and. before she
could see her danger and apply the
brakes, plunged into mud above the
rims. Laboring heavily, It stopped dead
After few convulsive heaves the
engine sighed and stalled
With the cessation of its rumble
came noise of rushing water. Mis-.
chance had led her to a spot where
the road had been half washed out by
the overflow from mountain stream
The headlights showed an unreleved
stretch of mire which forbade the
thought OF trying to go on. The only
thing to do was to back outfit she
could-and, since 1t would be impos-
sible to turn on the narrow trail, keep
on backing till she regained the last
fork: on the face of 1t no easy task.
but feasible with care and patience.
Hopefully she restarted the engine
and threw the reverse gears. The
wheels moved with sucking noise, at
first sluggishly, then worked free and
spun briskly. The car held fast where
II had stopped. She shut Off the ignl-
ton and got down to investigate, step
ping into mud above her ankles. The
sole result of her attempt to back out
had been to bog down the wheels near
ly to the hubs.
When she had strained the motor
for few more minutes without en-
couragement, she gave up the hopeless
struggle and cried little into her
muddled hands.
The unhappy alternative was hers,
to remain in the car till she was found
If she ever was-or to pick her way
back through the pitch-dark forest to
the first fork In the road, either to
wait there to be recaptured by Mario,
or else to push on into the valley or
wherever the road might lead. till she
came to human habtation.
Either course was dismaying In an
ticipation. The forest frightened her
indescribably. To stop where she was
meant perhaps hours of waiting-day-.
light was still long time off-in the
solitude and silence of the woods, en-
comprised by she dared not guess
what perils from prowling beasts of
prey.
And on this reflection, she switched
the headlights Off. lest their shine at
tract attention.
She recalled with painful vividness
the fear of the forest that had haunt
ed Leonora on the morning of the day