Evening star., 1920-11-21

rose green and fair in their cloaks of
trees.
A kinsfisher flew chattering over
his head; jay screamed in the woods
behind him: and once a black bass
leapSa clear of the water in a smash
ing strike at fly. not twenty yards
off-shore.
But Andy saw none of these things.
nor heard them. Eyes and ears were
intent on the men ahead, muscles
striving to overtake them.
! He had the wit. as he drew near the
troint. to go more quietly. And it was
as well that he did. A great pine
he peered around it his muscles set
themselves; he caught his breath.
Twenty yards from where he stood
four Of five powders were grouped to-
man. They made a semi-circle. and
alders backed them lying between
| them and the lake.
| Within the arc of the powders a
man was squatting. The man was
i Wermuth, but Andy only knew this
through the swamp.
Wermuth was squatting. busy about
something. At first, since Wermuth's
back was turned. Andy could not be
sure what the man was doing. Then
the other shifted position. and Andy
saw that the squatting man was
! iawkwardiy slicing strips Of bacon
with his pocketknife.
| The memory of his wrongs. tho
memory of his duty. the memory of
lin lay-these memories returned to
Andy. flooded him. And he swung his
cudgel, stepped around the great pine
tree. and ran headlong toward where
Wermuth was so busy with the bacon
and his knife.
He was within half a dozen PAGES OF
wermuth before the other looked up
at the beat of his footsteps and saw
him.
Now Andy was. at this time. not =
pretty sight.
To begin at the bottom. he was mud
to the knees, and he was mud and
water to the whist. Above the waist
| his garments were half torn away by
the recklessness of his progress
through the swamp. Lean and long
scarecrow now.
And to complete the likeness. his
face was SO daubed with mud and
! W. ith his own blood that il looked like
no face Of humankind. His eyes pro-
truded wildly'
n il hard to be sure how the sight
Of Andy affected Wermuth. The man
kwore afterwArd that he was not
afraid. that he but turned away to
reach a weapon. All that is known is
this;
to his feet. threw up his hands.
screamed like a frightened child. and
turned to run.
AZ he turned. Andy's cudEel smote
him, and he went down and elucked
and kicked and lay stu.
Andy was half stunned by tho ease
of his own victory. Through the
night, considering what he meant TO
do. he had feared this big man as his
chief antagonist.
fore him: the other WAS not much
more than half his own size. Easy
He looked swiftly around, saw Frei-
lick nowhere.
Ing.
. NDy took precautions. He did not
"A wish Wermuth TO rejoin the
battle inopportunely: and 30 he
dropped on his knees, laying his
cudeel aside, and he found a length
of harsh twine--it had been used to
tie the bacon-and he drew Wcr-
muth's hands behind him and secured
the wrists together. There was no
more twine so he stripped away Wer-
muth's suspenders and knotted them
again and again around the big mans
ankles.
He was at this business when he
heard q step. q little behind him, and
got up and turned and saw the little
man, Frellick, watching him. Frei-
lick, as has been said, was not so
large as Andy: he stood half-crouch.
ing now, and his arms were half fuli
of bits Of wood which he seemed to
have been gathering for hre. He
dropped them when Andy turned to-
ward him. 1t WAS as well. Tor Anoy
did not stop to parley.
He went toward Frelllch swiftly
with hungry hands.
II IS one Of the hardest things in
the world to be sure Of the strength
ANDY might be forgiven for making
n mistake in this moment. He had
seen the two men, dimly. the night
before: he sad seen that one was vast
and bulky, that the other was small
And it was natural that his fears
should have centered on the big man.
1t was equally natural that. having
vanautshed the more formidable an
tagonist, he should rate the other
lightly.
cudgel. He charged DOWN on Frel-
lick with open, reaching hands.
When he was within six feet. com
ing fast, Frellick made a movement
that was like the fash Of light. and
a knife cleaned in his right hand. II
bit Andy's shoulder as they closed. il
sliced his arm A. he cried out in pain
and wrenched away; II pricked BE
(Continued on Fifth Pase.)