Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1920-06-24
CHAPTER XVII.
MAN 70 MAN AND AN EVEN
DDAYy

DRAW.
The candle hinge IL long that ni2ht
IN the cabin of the three gables. The
old man was more than usually rest.
less: n girl lowered about his chair
constantly. 1t seemed the presence
Of so many men in the woods that
day had excited him to the point
where even the calm of night failed
to lull him.. Times without humber
she had led him up and down the
floor: She had played to him, sung
to him..
She succeeded at last in coaxinz
him dows in his. chair, where he sat
eroaning: mumbling in his beard; and
whetting the knife on the palm of his
hand. She had smoothed the cueh-
ions behind his head and stood strok-
Ing his face with her hand. when.
without the least warning, the door
flew open, and, sharply outlined
against the dark background Of the
night, a man with a red mask over
his face stalkAd across the threshold.
He was. Of course. quite unaware
thatsthe girl already knew his.identi-
ty. THAT probably explained why he
had7sput on the mask. 1t would he
impossible. to describe the startling
transformation it wrought on his
sinister fac From out Of all lis
many terrors the night could not
A~Ho GCsCSNCA q IloIc dppdllllS one 10
fling into the cabin.
The girl screamed and chung apout
the old mar in the chair. Her scream
seemed to rouse him.. He glanced up,
rubbed his wide, pitiful eyes. and,
with a wild cry-more that of beast
than man-sprank from the chair
with a strength that sent the girl
reeling His sleeping sepses seemed
to wake. to recognize the object for
which his ghostly eyes had searched
the woods for weary years-a bit Of
red cloth with a certain face behind
it. His giant frame seemed to swell
with a strength tremendous. He
raised the knife and leaped toward
the intruder.
A giants strength. but with the
~disordered unwieldiness of a stricken
mind. @The knife barely grazed
where it vas meant to kill. Before
the gray giant could cover his pom
derous strength to, strike again, the
Red Mask had him by the wrist. and.
seemingly unwilling to risk the sound
of a shot, was rainineUblows upo. his
head with the butt Of his heavy re-
volver: 1t was a horrible thing to
helpless with horror. The first blow
brought he blood streaming out over
the white hair and disabled the old
man so frightfully that he ceased the
struggle and stood quivering. But the
merciless arm struck again and again
until the vast frame dropped, shrank
together, the knife fell from his
sank groaning to the foor-xrithed,
Strengthened and lay still.
The revolver was foul with blood
and gray hair. The murderer noticed
It. hastily wiped 1t away on a corner
of the fallen mans coat, thrust it
back into his pocket and faced the
girl.
The spell was broken. She started
as II from q nightmare and sprang
back Of the chair. Like a man press
ed for time, he dashed after her.
With the chair between them. she
managed for a bare moment to keep
beyond his hands. He kicked the
chair out Of the way. She darted to-
ward h Kitchen door. probably with
the hope of escaping to the woods,
but he was too close on her. She
room. The turn was fatal. His
hands reached her and drove her
back into the corner of, the room at
the head of the couch.
She fought as only a woman fights
for a stake Infinitely higher than
life itself. since time began the earth
has staged that struggle. Her dress
vas ! AC OONy OIU xScu, uST NAHuS
lgradually driven together behind her
kback; a hot. wild face near her own.
pa step creaked the plank at the doro.
Her assailant wh.ried at the sound
and she sank painting against the
wall.
Just inside the door. hts body
crouched forward. his lips tight
drawn, stood the tall form OF the
|Pearlhunter.
Things happened so fast in the next
instant that words are too, slow to
keep up with them. 1t was man to
man, and an even draw. The two
shots came 80 close together that the
hills out through the open door
caught but one echo. But the shot
from the door struck first-a scant
little mite OF an instant irst-and
Jared the aim Of the other 4 lrtic
high, The shot from the corner
merely clipped q bxndage at the TOP
OF the Pearlhunters shoulder. drew q
little welt ON the skin. sand whistled
harmlessly away into the night. me
bullet from the door evidently found
the o OF the target. The Red
Mask bent backward. The revolver
Idropped TO his side. He tried 70 radse
1t agsin: seemed surprised that &he
couldn't He laughed oddly, ana
l0Wofe. stared round tovRnRd tn rfrI.